For any other team, this would have been a rebuilding year. But the New England Patriots are not just another team.

When the 2010 NFL season was about to get under way, the punditry looked past New England. The team simply had too many holes, too many question marks.

But the fans knew better. While the team did indeed have more than its share of young and unproven players, it still had quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick.

Now, as owners of the best record in their conference, the Patriots have drawn a bye, giving themselves this weekend off. The Patriots are positioned well.

Sure, bad things can always happen. Just look at last year’s stunning playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens. But Brady doesn’t often play as poorly as he did in that loss. This season, Brady passed for 36 touchdowns while throwing a scant 4 interceptions. These are astonishing numbers.

A bit of perspective: Eli Manning of the New York Giants threw 31 touchdown passes, but managed to throw the ball into the hands of his opponents 25 times. There can be no real argument over Brady’s greatness.

And then there is Belichick, the head coach who finds ways to win where lesser coaches would find only excuses for having lost, who finds greatness in players other teams had given up on.

More casual observers might need to be reminded that the juggernaut that is today’s New England Patriots were long a very different story. The patsies, they were called. And they were, too, year after year. But not in the Belichick-Brady era. Their three Super Bowl championships in four years – following the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons – vaulted them to the top of the mountain.